Cardio Training: Choosing Your Path

Cardio training, love it or hate it, for any competing bodybuilder it’s a necessity to improve condition, burn fat and come in looking sharper and harder on competition day.

Not only that but cardio training helps speed recover, keep your heart healthy, lower blood pressure, reduce heart rate and helps make up for the perils of modern life like fast food, booze, cigarettes and laziness!

My recent 26 mile trek with Miss BNBF Britain Jo Black was pure torture, I vowed to never complain about doing an hour or two of cardio ever again. But alas, here I am a few months on still on my ongoing quest to keep cardio interesting, fun and desirable.

I have an admission, I am not, by any means, fit. The stair master is my dreaded enemy, while this is one exercise I do quite enjoy (it’s all about knowing that I am tensing my glutes regularly and thinking about my stage appearance next year). I have managed a grand total of 15 minutes to date; at which point the stair master is given cruel looks, and I sulk my way over to the treadmill to finish off my session.

So, my quest to find some different cardio training which I will enjoy. I am typing this having just completed an hour on our home exercise bike, which I can honestly say felt like the longest hour of my life. So, in coming weeks I am venturing to pastures new, that greet me with the sight of spinning bikes and cross fit training, and no doubt sweat, a red face and frizzy hair!

So what keeps me doing cardio training? I can answer this honestly, I genuinely manage to find something that I enjoy, and that I can do consistently. In my opinion, it is a common mistake to force yourself to slug it out doing an exercise that you despise. You become resentful, angry and end up never doing cardio when you are off season.

I always mix up my cardio training, between stair master (wince), treadmill, recumbent bike and cross training. After a little over a year of doing this, I’m looking at doing something new. Often, I will walk outside just to change my surroundings, get a breath of fresh air, and post some letters when I’m out there.

I think the most important thing anyone can do is research. Look things up on the internet, try new things and experiment! Don’t be afraid to do something different, don’t feel like you have to do what everyone else does. There’s a cardiovascular exercise for everyone!

For now, I will sign off but will keep you posted as I find cardio work which keeps me entertained,